Catholic-B.R. showing maturity in return to quarterfinals

Catholic will practice on Thanksgiving this week for the first time since 2009, and Coach Dale Weiner and his players said they couldn't be more excited (Jerit Roser, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)

Baton Rouge — Catholic-B.R. has often been here before, but its players have not.

The Class 5A No. 5 Bears will make their sixth quarterfinal appearance and 11th postseason road trip since 2001 on Friday against No. 13 Mandeville.

But without a playoff win since 2009, the current roster hadn't seen any part of that success — until now.

Still, Coach Dale Weiner's greatest confidence lies in the fact he hasn't seen much, if any, of that inexperience show in about two months.

"Not really," Weiner said. "We closed the season off traveling to St. Amant in a big ball game, then we ended the season with a big road game with Dutchtown, and I think the Week 9 and 10 experience of being on the road in hostile environments with a lot on the line is gonna serve us well.

"I don't think it'll be an issue. I think the Mandeville team will be a much bigger issue than the environment."

The Bears overcame 14-3 and 14-0 deficits to win those matchups, 31-14 and 26-21, respectively.

Weiner said he never noticed his players flinch during that stretch regardless of opponent or situation, and that show of stability has been "very tangible evidence" to the coach of his team's maturity despite its previous inexperience.

"These guys just have a great quality about 'em where they just bear down and worry about what's in front of 'em," Weiner said. "We always talk about how there's no circumstances that will occur in a game that should affect how hard you play.

"Sometimes things will happen beyond your control or sometimes you may make a bad play or a missed assignment or something, and you've gotta move on, and they've been doing that. That's huge. That's just huge, and it's hard sometimes for high school athletes to do that."

Sophomore running back Derrius Guice admitted to some nervousness against Carencro — an understandable feeling for a key contributor on a big stage in just his first varsity season.

But Guice said an increased focus quickly replaced that uncertainty for him and Catholic's other young players, much as it had for their older teammates months earlier.

LHSAA football playoffs

"Most of the seniors, some of these games could be their last games, so they've really been the main ones locked in and focused," Guice said. "None of us wants that to happen. None of us wanna walk away with a loss in the playoffs to end the season."

Weiner and the Bears feel a disappointing 3-7 outcome in 2011 provided the several returning players a wealth of experience.

"The schedule's the same, but we ain't" became a mantra during the offseason, and the Bears have repeatedly proven that claim correct this season.

"We've had a lot more fun," senior defensive lineman Garret Broussard said. "Everybody's really bought into it. Everybody's really on board. We all work our butts off every day, and we enjoy it. We enjoy every bit of it."

Catholic avenged 2011 losses to Mandeville, Denham Springs, East Ascension and Dutchtown, but were quick to say the postseason supplies a fresh set of challenges.

If the players needed any help recognizing the significance of their next game, they've received it from a variety of angles, including their predecessors.

"We have a lot of support from our fans and students and everyone around the school," senior quarterback Nick Coomes said. "This is my first playoff experience, but I know from past players that had gone to Catholic that it's an experience you need to enjoy and that you need to get the best out of it.

"We see it on social media: Players that used to play here supporting us in everything that we do throughout the plays. It's kind of cool to see that tradition never leaves. They're always there watching what we're doing."

While the experience will be new for the Bears, Weiner said the key to success will be matching their recent performances: namely limiting mistakes.

"We've doing a pretty good job with that," the coach said. "We had a playoff game in the Carencro game where we had no penalties, which is unheard of. We had a couple of penalties the other night, but not many, and we've been executing really well.

"In the playoffs, man, first, do no harm, and you're on the right track ... If you can first take care of yourself, then you can worry about executing and making big plays and all that."